New
by firequirks
Summary: Continuation of Different But the Same. I wanted to set it as a different story due to the big time skip, but like cookies and milk, this story is a bit better if you've read the former. I hope you enjoy. Please be patient as my mind works through the original premise. Thank you so much for your continued attention. M for the future, coming sooner than later. Leave your thoughts.
1. Beginning

She had her mother's personality in the beginning, cheerful and bright. She would be the first to open a conversation. Her green eyes sparkled. She introduced herself like the proper young child she was taught to be. After all, the Phantomhive manner had to keep up appearances as usual. Of course the other children adored her. Not only because of the countless toys she was the first to own, nor the huge estates with its many gardens and play areas. She was happy. Not a care in the world, back then. She knew her mother and father loved her very much. She knew the footman, the maid, the cook, and the grounds keeper who would stop their day to indulge her in games and tea parties. She knew the tall Butler who was always by her father's side. He was a pleasant man, much more strict than the others. He gave her beautiful confections from the estate bakery and flower crowns from the garden. He taught her piano. He kept the beaded spectacle chain she made around his neck. He would smile at her. He closely watched over her as well. When all the playmates left and her mansion friends were busy, he was always there. He never left her alone, she was never alone.

As the girl grew older, she noticed how the other mansion servants were not able to run as long as before. Before long, it was only Finny, the gardener who would run about as best as he could while the others could only sit on the side to watch and cheer. She noticed how her father's footman had disappeared from the mansion all together. She noticed one day, the house was very dark and quiet. She noticed the day that a dark casket was taken from the home. She met the curious man who takes caskets that day. His hair was long and gray, almost covering his whole face. She could however see the man's sly grin as she told him jokes she learned from overhearing the gardener and the cook by the stables, much to her mother's dismay. The girl noticed her mother and her father stay practically the same, as well as that tall butler.

When she was a teenager, the rumors started. Whispers she caught right before she turned the corner at school. Phantomhives this Phantomhives that. How they never age. How they stayed economically stable while other business turned to shambles. How the families secretly hated them. How they were the Monarchy's watchdogs. She had never known of such things prior to hearing the gossip in the hallways. Little by little, her classmates began to desert her. They came to the house less and less. One day, they stopped talking to her altogether. She had told her parents about this. Shortly after, she was being home schooled in the mansions east wing. Her tutors came and went. All of the highest class, none of them permanent. With less people her age to speak with, the less she talked. Her mother and father noticed this in their child. They tried their best to keep her chatting; unfortunately, one can't speak so much when they hold many secrets.

Of course, the butler remained by her side. Sebastian. She began to notice his face, always young. He was handsome. His build tall and muscular. There were times she noticed him watching her as he does. Some of those times, heat would rise to her cheeks. This was a strange, dizzy feeling. She felt his warmth as he looked over her shoulder during her piano lessons. They didn't sit together on the piano bench anymore. Her skirts were getting ridiculously more elaborate and layered. They still spoke to one another. They did not sit on grassy knolls or share secrets in playhouses; they sat across from one another in the sitting room. It was all very formal, very proper.

"No one is courting her, my dear" Elizabeth stated to her spouse

"I don't see the problem in that. She doesn't need some bore of a husband. She will be taken care of for the rest of her life. She can do whatever she wants, she can have whatever she wants" He spoke in his normal boastful tone. "Besides, Lizzy, who could ever be good enough for our lovely Celia?"

He was truly proud of his precious child. She was intelligent, independent, and as beautiful as her mother. Who could ever be worthy? Quite a father this Lord Phantomhive has become.

"That's not the point Ciel. She's lonely"

"She has us"

"Darling, she will need more than her parents in this world to keep her company"

His face paled as the thought entered his mind. She reached up to hold his cheek in her hand. Finally, she thought, he understands.

"I guess that is a problem" Ciel stated quietly. "We could always do a formal introduction to the public, isn't that what those snobby brats do now a day?"

"I don't think she would know what to do if there were so many courtiers at the same time. I mean the only men she's spoken with are Finny, Balderoy, and Sebastian"

"Sebas…" His face paled again. "I know those two other old timers don't have the guts to try anything, but Sebastian…He wouldn't dare"

"Darling, don't be ridiculous. Sebastian is a formal man"

Ciels' mind instantly flashed back to that barn, THAT barn.

"Darling, here's a grand idea" His wife's eyes gave off that sharp glint. "Let's send our daughter around the world. She could see all this earth has to offer. Things she could never imagine staying in London. Who knows, she may even find a wonderful young man who will fall in love with her as much as I love you"

He kissed his wife's hand. "As much as I love you" He whispered. "Very well, we shall offer the option to Celia"

" Yes, and Sebastian can accompany her"

"What?!" His mind flashed again. "Never, not that cock of the walk!"

"Darling, you know both of us don't trust anyone with our precious daughter more than Sebastian."

"It pains me to say it, but you're right" Damn.

That evening her parents spoke about the idea. Her heart skipped a beat. She would never say it out loud, because she did not want to hurt her parents whom she loved dearly, but she did want to leave this house, even if it was just for a bit. Her green eyes sparkled like her mother; her dark hair, like her father's, flowed behind as she ran and hugged her parents.

"You know we will miss you very dearly my love" her mother said

"It will just be for a while" she stated as calmly as her beating heart could manage.

The next day, after long embraces and many tear soaked kisses from her mother and father, she left in the carriage escorted by the tall dark butler at her side.

Sitting in the carriage, she felt his warmth come through her coat, it made the cold London air bearable. An hour into their carriage ride, her adrenaline subsided and she found herself drowsy, yawning.

"Pardon me Sebastian"

"You do have time to sleep Mistress; we won't reach the pier for an hour or two" His voice was calming.

"Thank you" she sleepily replied, she was already half in slumber.

He glanced at her. Eyes closed, small lips slightly parted, that rosy blush across her smooth cheeks. He gently guided her head to his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her small shoulders to keep her warm. He had done this action many times when she had fallen asleep during reading time in the library. It was somewhat different this time. She had grown up, Little Cecilia. She was woman. He had to remind himself to remain proper. That father of hers had made his threats of castration and beheading the night prior to their departure, impetuous as always, that one. You grow a bit older, marry and have a child and you think you're a proper man. He chuckled to himself. The estate had become very entertaining since the night of the Master's return. He did not, however, expect to be smitten by his spawn, enamored by this beauty silently sleeping in his arms, quite unexpected indeed.


	2. Unfamiliar Waters

_**Endure with me now. If you've read my stories I usually get right into...it...you know...IT. I'm trying a new approach. Just wanting to build up some well needed tension. Enjoy the ride. As always, I don't own the Kuroshitsuji anything, I only own and own up to my crazy mind.**_

...

The boat was monstrous. Its' form reminded her of a large bumble bee, Black with yellow trim. Large steam pillars at center, long bow with a sharp stinger of a spirit jutting forth, slicing through the air. Its stern was wide and massive. It was a large bee.

Unfortunately the size of the vessel could not mask its' sway. Cecilia was a somewhat cloistered child. She travelled to and from destinations in carriages and on foot, few hoarse rides out with her father. The only boats she'd been on were the dainty paddle boats on the lake near her home. Their ebb and flow could not even hint at what the actual version could do. From the beginning, she tried to be strong. Her heart beating in her throat as the juggernaut of a boat slowly pulled away from port. Being on the top deck, with the wind rushing over her, the smell of the ocean and cool spray, that was not a problem. The problem was in the cabin. She shared a cramped room with Sebastian. Though her father made sure the finest furnishings were provided for his daughter, the space was not negotiable. The ship they had taken was bound for Morocco. A place she'd read about in books. She was yearning to set her feet on foreign land, to claim a piece of the unknown for herself.

Currently land adventure was far from her mind. She had been ill since the first night when they retired to the cabin. She was exhausted from the land trip to port that she fell asleep instantly. Once her body had gotten a bit of rest, woke to the realization that it was no longer on solid ground. She roused to her stomach churning and immediately lost her bearings. Sebastian was instantly at her side. She didn't even notice his presence until a cool cloth touched her forehead. Her blurry vision focused on the handsome face before her. She was mortified. That thought made her stomach lurch even more.

"Sebastian I apologize for my loss of composure" she stated as proper as she could considering the circumstances.

"There is no need for apologies Mistress. You haven't adjusted to your sea legs yet."

"I think sea fins would be more suitable" Her voice quivered with discomfort

He let out a small laugh. She is a cleaver girl, a combination of her Father and her Mother's wit.

Cecilia felt dizzy and turned limp. Sebastian guided her back to the down pillow. At least she could get some sleep, even if it was from exhaustion. The butler began to notice her flushed face and red lips as he gently wiped her face with the damp cloth starting from her forehead, down her chin, to her neck, down to the seat of her collar bone. Her night gown was slightly opened to reveal a bit of her soft…

Snap out of it fool!

He quickly averted his eyes back to her face, which didn't help the situation. Instead, he focused on wringing the cloth into the water basin. Her breathing was calm and even, the pattern of deep sleep. He sat for a spell on her bed.

"What would your father do if he knew what I was thinking?" he said to the quiet air.

He placed a bit more weight on the bed. He situated his face close to hers. He felt her warmth radiate onto him. He then silently returned to his corner, not to sleep, and not to dream. Demons don't sleep, demons don't dream.

Celia wasn't sure if it was her bad humors or the rocking boat that made the nightmares come. They were filled with horrible creatures; dark figures, solid shadows with piercing red eyes, plumes, tails, fangs, claws. She was a practical girl and could not imagine where the source of these images came from. They started the after first week on the boat when new became routine. She was too exhausted to wake herself up from them. Her days were filled with studying the culture she would be engulfed in and making herself useful on board. There she sat in her dream, crouched behind some bush or tree or piece of furniture, where ever the particular setting was at the time, a silent observer of the macabre show.

Sebastian noticed the furrowed brows as she slept the roll of her eyes under closed lids. The nightmares.

One particular evening when she was stronger, she managed to break the trance. She sat straight up in bed, almost letting out a scream but quickly swallowed that ridiculous reaction to such a childish notion. She saw Sebastian at his corner desk, his back to hers. He was writing away in that ledger journal of his. She stole it one time when she was a child. In her mind then, she thought a bit of color would improve the boring slant of thick black ink. He had caught her in the act. The stern look on his face caused her to swallow her panic, and then with an equal gaze she met his eyes. They stood facing one another for some time as if in a staring contest. Sebastian then let out an amused chuckle. His eyes glinted, hers became confused. He patted her on the head and gently removed the book from her gripping hands.

"Mistress, I would have been happy to have your artwork grace the pages of my book, no need to be secretive" He had said. Sebastian then did an odd thing. It was the first time she had seen him do this gesture to anyone but her father. He knelt down to one knee to level his height to hers, one hand over his chest, the other arm behind his back. "After all, I didn't allow my Mistress to express her passion, what kind of Butler would I be?"

She found it odd at the time. But that signaled the beginning of Sebastian's presence near her, at all times.

She sat silently staring at his back, broad shoulders, and slim frame. He had taken off his overcoat and was in his white pressed shirt with rolled up sleeves to his elbows, still, his gloves remained on. Since the start of their journey together he had been somewhat more formal in her presence. He kept a little more distance between them. He barely made eye contact with her even in their conversations. He still fulfilled his duties as her caretaker with the utmost precision. She was happy to have this butler at her side, but times like these, during the night in unfamiliar rocking boats on unfamiliar seas; she would rather have a friend. She didn't think herself any more than a charge for Sebastian. He still looked at her as if she were a child; he still treated her like one. She didn't want much, just a friend. She hadn't had a true friend for so long.

She quietly stepped out of bed slowly making her way to the seated figure. She thought she was unnoticed. All the while, Sebastian sat, poised, pen in the air, pausing his writing, holding his breath, calming himself as he felt her presence come closer. He had been at her side during the waking nightmare. He swiftly returned to his current position as he sensed her consciousness. He had yet to calm himself from watching her face flushed and her breathing deep, hurried. The sight conjured some feelings, feelings of a mere man, somewhat uncontrollable and very problematic.

She was almost to him, almost within reach. Her arm out poised to touch his shoulder. What then? She asked herself. It was strange. There was some sort of gravity pulling her in despite her shyness, despite nervousness, despite better judgment. Suddenly her senses caught up to her. She retracted her arm as if a snake had snapped at it, then slowly and silently returned to bed. He felt this; he had a moment of relief then a moment of uncalculated action. He turned towards her.

"Mistress" he called out, almost gently. It was too late to take it back. Though it was soft and low, it could be heard in a ships cabin, on the sea, in the middle of a dark and silent night.

She turned towards him. The soft lamp light near her bed surrounded her with a halo. Her gauze gown draping her body to the floor, her dark hair mused and wildly cascading down her shoulders. Her eyes were wide as they met his. Her heart skipped a beat.

"You'll catch a death of a cold without your robe on" He replied. His tone was calm and matter-of-fact.

"Thank you Sebastian. I apologize for disturbing you. I'll go back to bed now" She said turning away from his gaze. Facing him any more right now would be quite an ordeal. Her blushing face would be very evident. She quickly positioned herself back in bed. "Good night Sebastian"

"Good night Mistress" He was very good and hiding himself. Composure was his forte'.

Why did he almost loose it?


End file.
